How To Pitch: Mother Jones

Expose 'great power wielders' for this smart, fearless magazine

By Mona Zhang -
December 11, 2013Circulation: 216,000Frequency: BimonthlySpecial issues: Issues are themed, but subject to change due to the news cycle. See the Editorial Calendar Guide for more details.

Background: Mother Jones launched in 1976 and remains an independent, nonprofit newsmagazine committed to "smart, fearless investigative journalism." Its founders envisioned a publication that would hold those in power accountable, a goal that the magazine still holds. Today, Mother Jones' Washington bureau and staff reporters in San Francisco produce investigations and cover breaking news 24/7 at MotherJones.com, complementing the long-form work found in the bimonthly print magazine. Topics like politics, business accountability, the environment and human rights are focal points of the magazine, and the editors are always experimenting with different storytelling techniques and presentation (e.g. infographics and timelines).

CEO Madeleine Buckingham and publisher Steven Katz took over the business side in 2010; the editors are Monika Bauerlein and Clara Jeffery. Soon after taking the helm in 2006, Bauerlein and Jeffery launched an eight-person bureau in D.C., hiring veteran political reporter David Corn as its bureau chief, the man who unearthed the now-infamous Mitt Romney '47 percent' video. Under Bauerlein and Jeffery's leadership, Mother Jones has been an innovator in new-media storytelling, social media initiatives and collaborative partnerships. The mag has also won two National Magazine Awards for general excellence under their tenure.

...

The How to Pitch series is worth its weight in gold. In just the first month I'd already benefited enough to consider the cost of joining well worth it. -- Gaen Murphree